{
  "name": "Pseudoephedrine purchase limits: federal gram limits and stricter state rules",
  "description": "How much pseudoephedrine (Sudafed and equivalents) a person may buy, per day and per 30 days, under the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, and every state rule that is stricter than the federal floor \u2014 lower gram limits, annual caps, or a prescription requirement. Answers 'how much Sudafed can I buy in a month', 'is pseudoephedrine prescription-only in [state]', 'why was my Sudafed purchase blocked', and 'pseudoephedrine limit [state] 2026'. The federal limits are 3.6 g/day and 9 g per 30 days (7.5 g/30 days by mail order); states like Tennessee cut the 30-day limit to 5.76 g and add a 28.8 g annual cap. This is a topic the web is confidently wrong about: pages in 2025-2026 still describe Oregon and Mississippi as prescription-only years after both repealed those laws (Oregon 2021, Mississippi 2021).",
  "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/",
  "licence": "unknown",
  "last_verified": "2026-08-18",
  "stale_after": "2027-08-18",
  "sources": [
    "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
    "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/830",
    "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/"
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 mail-order sales, 30-day limit",
      "thirty_day_limit": "7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine base",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.100(b)",
      "id": "federal-mail-order-sales-30-day-limit",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-mail-order-sales-30-day-limit/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "to submit a report of the sales transaction to the Administration may not in any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 7.5 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "thirty_day_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 mail-order sales, daily limit",
      "daily_limit": "3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.100(a)",
      "id": "federal-mail-order-sales-daily-limit",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-mail-order-sales-daily-limit/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "to submit a report of the sales transaction to the Administration may not in a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "daily_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 mail-order sales, statutory 30-day limit",
      "thirty_day_limit": "7.5 grams of ephedrine base, pseudoephedrine base, or phenylpropanolamine base in such products per customer during a 30-day period",
      "citation": "21 U.S.C. 830(e)(2)(B)",
      "id": "federal-mail-order-sales-statutory-30-day-limit",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-mail-order-sales-statutory-30-day-limit/",
      "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/830",
      "source_quote": "The person may not sell more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, pseudoephedrine base, or phenylpropanolamine base in such products per customer during a 30-day period.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "thirty_day_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 mobile retail vendors, 30-day limit",
      "thirty_day_limit": "7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine base",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.20(b)",
      "id": "federal-mobile-retail-vendors-30-day-limit",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-mobile-retail-vendors-30-day-limit/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "A mobile retail vendor may not in any 30-day period sell an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 7.5 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "thirty_day_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail sale (regulated sellers, including mobile retail vendors), daily limit",
      "daily_limit": "3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.20(a)",
      "id": "federal-retail-sale-regulated-sellers-including-mobile-retail-vendors-daily-limi",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-sale-regulated-sellers-including-mobile-retail-vendors-daily-limi/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "Without regard to the number of transactions, a regulated seller (including a mobile retail vendor) may not in a single calendar day sell any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "daily_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail sale, statutory behind-the-counter requirement",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "the seller places the product such that customers do not have direct access to the product before the sale is made",
      "citation": "21 U.S.C. 830(e)(1)(A)(i)",
      "id": "federal-retail-sale-statutory-behind-the-counter-requirement",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-sale-statutory-behind-the-counter-requirement/",
      "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/830",
      "source_quote": "In offering the product for sale, the seller places the product such that customers do not have direct access to the product before the sale is made (in this paragraph referred to as \u201cbehind-the-counter\u201d placement). For purposes of this paragraph, a behind-the-counter placement of a product includes circumstances in which the product is stored in a locked cabinet that is located in an area of the facility involved to which customers do have direct access.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail sale, statutory daily limit",
      "daily_limit": "a daily amount of 3.6 grams",
      "citation": "21 U.S.C. 830(d)(1)",
      "id": "federal-retail-sale-statutory-daily-limit",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-sale-statutory-daily-limit/",
      "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/830",
      "source_quote": "required to submit reports by subsection (b)(3) may not, for any purchaser, exceed a daily amount of 3.6 grams, without regard to the number of transactions",
      "verified_fields": [
        "daily_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail sale, statutory logbook requirement",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "The seller maintains, in accordance with criteria issued by the Attorney General, a written or electronic list of such sales",
      "citation": "21 U.S.C. 830(e)(1)(A)(iii)",
      "id": "federal-retail-sale-statutory-logbook-requirement",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-sale-statutory-logbook-requirement/",
      "source": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/830",
      "source_quote": "The seller maintains, in accordance with criteria issued by the Attorney General, a written or electronic list of such sales that identifies the products by name, the quantity sold, the names and addresses of purchasers, and the dates and times of the sales (which list is referred to in this subsection as the \u201clogbook\u201d), except that such requirement does not apply to any purchase by an individual of a single sales package if that package contains not more than 60 milligrams of pseudoephedrine.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail transactions, behind-the-counter placement",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "The regulated seller must place the product so that customers do not have direct access to the product before the sale is made",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.25(b)",
      "id": "federal-retail-transactions-behind-the-counter-placement",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-transactions-behind-the-counter-placement/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "The regulated seller must place the product so that customers do not have direct access to the product before the sale is made (in this paragraph referred to as \u201cbehind-the-counter\u201d placement). For purposes of this paragraph, a behind-the-counter placement of a product includes circumstances in which the product is stored in a locked cabinet that is located in an area of the facility where customers do have direct access. Mobile retail vendors must place the product in a locked cabinet.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Federal \u2014 retail transactions, logbook requirement",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "the regulated seller must maintain, in accordance with criteria issued by the Administrator, a written or electronic list of each scheduled listed chemical product sale",
      "citation": "21 CFR 1314.30(a)",
      "id": "federal-retail-transactions-logbook-requirement",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/federal-retail-transactions-logbook-requirement/",
      "source": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1314",
      "source_quote": "Except for purchase by an individual of a single sales package containing not more than 60 milligrams of pseudoephedrine, the regulated seller must maintain, in accordance with criteria issued by the Administrator, a written or electronic list of each scheduled listed chemical product sale that identifies the products by name, the quantity sold, the names and addresses of the purchasers, and the dates and times of the sales (referred to as the \u201clogbook\u201d).",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Tennessee \u2014 NPLEx electronic tracking and stop-sale alerts",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "a pharmacy shall electronically submit the required information to NPLEx administered by NADDI",
      "citation": "Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 39-17-431(e)(2)",
      "id": "tennessee-nplex-electronic-tracking-and-stop-sale-alerts",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/tennessee-nplex-electronic-tracking-and-stop-sale-alerts/",
      "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/",
      "source_quote": "Beginning January 1, 2012, before completing a sale of an over-the-counter product containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine not otherwise excluded from the record keeping requirement, a pharmacy shall electronically submit the required information to NPLEx administered by NADDI.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Tennessee \u2014 pharmacy-only dispensing",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "any product that contains any immediate methamphetamine precursor may be dispensed only by a licensed pharmacy",
      "citation": "Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 39-17-431(a)",
      "id": "tennessee-pharmacy-only-dispensing",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/tennessee-pharmacy-only-dispensing/",
      "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/",
      "source_quote": "Except as provided in this section, any product that contains any immediate methamphetamine precursor may be dispensed only by a licensed pharmacy.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Tennessee \u2014 pharmacy sales limits (30-day and one-year)",
      "thirty_day_limit": "Five and seventy-six hundredths (5.76) grams in any period of thirty (30) consecutive days",
      "annual_limit": "Twenty-eight and eight tenths (28.8) grams in any one-year period",
      "citation": "Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 39-17-431(c)(1)",
      "id": "tennessee-pharmacy-sales-limits-30-day-and-one-year",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/tennessee-pharmacy-sales-limits-30-day-and-one-year/",
      "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/",
      "source_quote": "A pharmacy shall not sell products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base, or their salts, isomers or salts of isomers to the same person in an amount more than: (A) Five and seventy-six hundredths (5.76) grams in any period of thirty (30) consecutive days; or (B) Twenty-eight and eight tenths (28.8) grams in any one-year period.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "annual_limit",
        "thirty_day_limit"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Tennessee \u2014 photo ID and pharmacist counseling at point of sale",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "require any person purchasing an over-the-counter product containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to present valid government issued photo identification at the point of sale",
      "citation": "Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 39-17-431(d)",
      "id": "tennessee-photo-id-and-pharmacist-counseling-at-point-of-sale",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/tennessee-photo-id-and-pharmacist-counseling-at-point-of-sale/",
      "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/",
      "source_quote": "The pharmacist or pharmacy intern under the supervision of the pharmacist shall require any person purchasing an over-the-counter product containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to present valid government issued photo identification at the point of sale. The pharmacist or pharmacy intern shall counsel with the person seeking to purchase the product as to the reasons for needing the product and may decline the sale if the pharmacist or pharmacy intern believes the sale is not for a legitimate medical purpose.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Tennessee \u2014 prescription exemption from purchase limits",
      "prescription_or_other_restriction": "shall not apply to a person who obtains the product or products pursuant to a valid prescription issued by a licensed healthcare practitioner",
      "citation": "Tenn. Code Ann. \u00a7 39-17-431(c)(3)",
      "id": "tennessee-prescription-exemption-from-purchase-limits",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/pseudoephedrine-purchase-limits-by-state/tennessee-prescription-exemption-from-purchase-limits/",
      "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-39-criminal-offenses/tn-code-sect-39-17-431/",
      "source_quote": "The prohibitions contained in this subsection (c) shall not apply to a person who obtains the product or products pursuant to a valid prescription issued by a licensed healthcare practitioner authorized to prescribe by the laws of the state.",
      "verified_fields": [
        "prescription_or_other_restriction"
      ],
      "derived_fields": [
        "citation",
        "jurisdiction"
      ]
    }
  ]
}